Livin’ the 919

Just on the north side of Peace St., a great new bar has opened its doors. There is nothing fancy about the space and that is just fine with both the owner as well as all of its loyal followers. The Cardinal Bar opened in late December after many months of gutting and completely reworking the old Cardinal Cab office.

Don’t come in and ask for a cocktail list however as you won’t find it! What you do find is a great vibe, a beautiful bar top courtesy of Raleigh Reclaimed, solid music, local beers and some amazing hot dogs. In fact, that is the only menu you will find will signify your food order. You write down your name, note how many dogs, what toppings you want and whether you want chips. Basic, simple and damn good!

As The Cardinal Bar is right around the corner from Glenwood Ave and I can see us in there for a late lunch, an ice cold beer, some great conversation and an incredible view of the Raleigh skyline from the heated patio. Stop by from 12-2am every day. Welcome back to the neighborhood Jason, we’re sure glad you’re open.

Well after a long hiatus, in the Raleigh area anyways, Tobacco Road Sports Cafe is set to open its doors again in the downtown Raleigh area and just in time for the NFL playoff push and the height of college basketball season. The new location is just around the corner from their prior home on Glenwood Avenue but with a much bigger footprint.

For a sneak peak, check out the video below. It looks like they have been quite busy over the last couple of months. Many of you will recognize it as the former home of Natty Greene’s. Yes, Tobacco Road will now be a brew pub!

In addition, there will be a game room with a multitude of games to keep your attention. They even reached out to their customers on Facebook to take suggestions. From the USB ports throughout to the interactive online menu that identifies items based on your allergies or dietary restrictions, it truly seems like they are trying to make the brewery as consumer friendly as possible and that I love!

Have you been driving into downtown Raleigh on Capital Boulevard recently and wondered what the construction was all about? Over the last couple of months, the area from the Wade Avenue bridge southward has begun a transformation. This Capital Blvd project also includes the bridge further to the south at the intersection of Peace and Capital and the surrounding areas. As the northern entrance into the city, this area has been in need of some dressing up for some time now.

This project, which will really ramp up in 2017 will completely transform the Peace St corridor. I’m very excited to see this for so many reasons with our new Bamboo office on Peace St. being just one of them. The video below does a great job at explaining in depth the improvements that will be made to the area…check it out.

One of the major new projects that are currently underway downtown is the new Raleigh Union Station. As a self proclaimed train enthusiast and lover of all things transportation, this project really intrigues me. Union Station, which is expected to be operational in January of 2018, will be a transportation hub as well as a new shining gateway to Raleigh. Below are some pictures of the progress over the year.

Beyond the transportation spaces, Union Station will feature over 12,000 square feet split between retail, office and restaurant space. In addition there will be a much larger waiting room for Amtrak passengers, a daylit enclosed concourse between the station and platform and a grand Civic Hall for public events.

This $90 million dollar facility will be the cornerstone of the warehouse district which is poised for massive growth over the next two years with the addition of The Dillon and the Morgan Street Food Hall. It will also provide a beautiful new entrance to the city for our out of town visitors coming in via Amtrak.

For anyone who has travelled via Amtrak from the current Raleigh station knows that this is a well needed upgrade. And due to the fact that we have one of the busiest and yet smallest stations in the southeast January of 2018 can’t come soon enough for this rider.

Brian Holt

Brian Holt is a North Carolina broker at The Logan Group and Keller Williams. With years of real estate experience and an eye for interior design, Brian serves clients throughout the Triangle and specializes in downtown Raleigh 'Inside the Beltline' properties.

Downtown Living

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